Loe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The name Loe reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Loe family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Loe family lived in Worcestershire. The earliest instances of the name in England appear for the most part to be of local origin; that is, derived from the name of the place where an original bearer lived or where he once held land, the place in this instance being a hlaw, the Old English word for a hill. Any individual case may also be of nickname origin, deriving from loup, the Old French word for a wolf, or from one of the pet-names for Lawrence, such as Law or Low. 1
Exploring the Norman (French) connection more, we found Richard Lowes was listed in Normandy 1180-95 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae.) 2
Early Origins of the Loe family
The surname Loe was first found in Worcestershire. Later, a branch of the family was found at Alderwasley in Derbyshire. " The Le Foune or Fawne family held lands here in the reign of Henry III., and their heiress intermarried with the Lowes, who obtained a grant of the manor from Henry VIII." 3
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include: Ralph de la Lowe, Salop (Shropshire); and Hugh de la Lowe, Herefordshire. 4
In Somerset, Crist atte Lowe was listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edwar III.) 5
In Cheshire, the family has a long history of serving as Mayors of Macclesfield: Thomas del Lowe, 1430; Thomas Lowe, 1448; and George Lowe, 1607. 4
In Gloucestershire, John le Luv was listed in the Pipe Rolls for 1207 and later, Robertus Lupus and Robert le Lu were listed in the Assize Rolls for Warwickshire in 1221. Walter le Lou was found in Devon in 1242 and later again, William le Low was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lancashire in 1284. In London, Martin le Low was found there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275. In the same year, Robert de la Lowe was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire and later, Roger del Lowe was found in the Assize Rolls for Cheshire in 1288. 6
"Essentially a name of the midlands and adjacent north - west counties, being most numerous in Derbyshire, Warwickshire, and Cheshire. Lowes is the north of England form, occurring in Northumberland and Durham, and in the North and East Ridings in the form of Lowish. In Scotland Low has an independent home in Aberdeenshire." 7
Taking time to explore Scotland in more detail, we found the name is more commonly in the form Lowes and is: "from old lands of the name near the Loch of Lowes in Selkirkshire. Lowys, Lowis, Lowes, is a Lowland surname the first record of which appears to be in 1318. In that year Walter Lowys witnessed a charter to lands in the earldom of Dunbar. Patrick de Lowis appears as burgess of Edinburgh, 1447, and in 1449 as Patrick Lowis (without 'de') attested a renunciation by Walter Scott of Bukcleuch. There was a family of Lowis of Mener in Peeblesshire in record 1463-1464, and the family is to be traced beyond the year 1622. Thomas of Lowis in record, 1473. Families of the name were also long tenants under the see of Glasgow in Eddleston parish. Margaret Lowyss held half the lands of Burnetland, Peeblesshire, 1557. " 8
Early History of the Loe family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Loe research. Another 221 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1318, 1428, 1432, 1433, 1439, 1443, 1467, 1517, 1524, 1550, 1565, 1588, 1589, 1594, 1596, 1598, 1599, 1601, 1602, 1603, 1607, 1612, 1613, 1618, 1628, 1640, 1644, 1661, 1667, 1680, 1682, 1689, 1690, 1694, 1720, 1724, 1790 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Loe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Loe Spelling Variations
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Lowe, Lowes, Lowis, Lowse, Low, McLoy and others.
Early Notables of the Loe family
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was
- Humphrey Lowe, High Sheriff of Shropshire; George Lowe (c. 1594-1682), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Calne (1640-1644), a Royalist supporter; John Lowe (1628-1667), an English politi...
Loe Ranking
In the United States, the name Loe is the 10,199th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 9
Migration of the Loe family to Ireland
Some of the Loe family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 87 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Loe migration to the United States +
Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Loe name or one of its variants:
Loe Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Mr. Richard Loe, (Lee, Lowe), who left England and arrived in Maryland in 1634 he was master on aboard the ship "Ark" 10
- Peter Loe, aged 22, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Merchant's Hope" 10
- Richard Loe, who landed in Virginia in 1636 10
- Richard Loe, who landed in Maryland in 1640 10
- William Loe, who landed in Virginia in 1650 10
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Loe Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Robert Loe, who arrived in Virginia in 1713 10
- Peter Loe, who landed in New York in 1756 10
Loe migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Loe Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
- David Loe, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Loe migration to West Indies +
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association.
11Loe Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
- Mr. John Loe, (b. 1617), aged 18, British settler travelling aboard the ship "The Dorset" arriving in Barbados in September 1635 12
Contemporary Notables of the name Loe (post 1700) +
- Sherwood R. Loe, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Louisiana, 1944, 1952 13
The Loe Motto +
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Spero meliora
Motto Translation: I hope for better things.
Citations +
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
- Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html